Singing along with Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It," hundreds of teachers, schoolchildren and supporters rallied at the state Capitol yesterday to protest proposed cuts in K-12 education.
The rally, the brainchild of an Orange County school bus driver, drew educators from counties across the state, such as Hanover and Henrico, Pulaski, Westmoreland and Fairfax.
On a blustery day at the Bell Tower, many held signs with messages such as: "Cuts hurt kids," "You can't spell 'governor' without a teacher," and, sarcastically, "Reopen rest stops -- flush a child's education."
The House of Delegates and the state Senate have two weeks to reconcile rival spending plans that feature deep cuts to K-12 education.
The House would cut aid to K-12 education by $620 million, the Senate by $418 million. Both sides say they would offset some of the cuts through retirement savings for localities.
Gov. Bob McDonnell, who had sought $731 million in K-12 cuts, told reporters in Lynchburg on Friday that lawmakers must cut education to close the state's budget deficit.
"We've cut public safety and higher education and some other areas of the budget so badly over the last couple of years that the only places that were really left to make some additional reductions were in health care and K-12 education," he said.
Lori Gues, a school bus driver for Orange County High School, said she first thought of a Richmond rally in late January, after she heard Orange County School Superintendent Robert P. Grimesey deliver an emotional talk about proposed budget cuts.
"I sat there and I thought to myself, we have to do something. This isn't acceptable," she recalled.
Rob Jones, director of government relations and research for the Virginia Education Association, detailed a series of distinctions between the House and Senate plans for education, then told the crowd:
"I hope I have made it clear why the House should take their budget and shove it . . . into the trash can."
Kathy Burcher, chairman of the Virginia PTA Legislation Committee, said it has been difficult to convey the effect of proposed cuts on school breakfast programs, kindergarten programs, sports, music, foreign-language instruction, and facilities funding, which includes money for electricity and air conditioning.
"In June, with a heavy heart, I say, hundreds of highly qualified teachers will become the state's newest unemployed," she said.
Sen. R. Edward Houck, D-Spotsylvania, a former educator whose district includes Orange County, apologized to the crowd for having to choose between two budgets that he said do not treat children fairly.
Kyle Wormuth, a reading specialist at Unionville Elementary School in Orange County, noted that he will be among teachers who lose their jobs, reporting that he recently received a reduction-in-force notice.
He listed consequences of budget cuts, such as the inability to replace aging computers and school buses, and led the crowd in chants of "That's not right."
One of hundreds of educators in the crowd, David Hinds, spent 42 years as a teacher and administrator in Virginia schools, retiring in Stafford County.
He noted that the legislature has voted to raise the speed limit to 70 mph on rural interstates.
"The cost of changing all the signs should go to students who don't have anything to eat in the morning," he said.
Contact Andrew Cain at (804) 649-6645 or acain@timesdispatch.com.
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